Today's communication networks provide transport of voice, video and data to both residential and commercial customers, with more and more of those customers being connected by fiber optic cables. In these communication networks, information is transmitted from one location to another by sending pulses of light through the fiber optic cables. Fiber optic transmission provides several advantages over electrical transmission techniques, such as increased bandwidth and lower losses.
In telecommunications, the term “demarcation point” is used to refer to the point at which the communications service provider cabling ends and connects to a customer's on-premises wiring, cabling, and the like. The customer is generally responsible for installation and maintaining of cabling and equipment on the customer's side of the demarcation point.
A demarcation box is often placed at the demarcation point and is used to house the physical interface between the service provider's network and the customer's cabling. When that cabling involves fiber optic cables, the demarcation box, or fiber termination box, must typically provide secure storage for fiber splices, to allow an installer to connect a fiber optic cable to cabling in the box, and may provide fan-out cabling to one or several fiber optic connectors, for connection to customer cabling and equipment.
One type of fiber optic cable that is commonly used is ribbon fiber optic cable. Ribbon fiber optic cable includes individual optical fibers arranged side by side and laminated by a relatively durable material, such as plastic, in a ribbon-like form that positions, holds and protects the fibers. These ribbons may be paired with additional components, such as buffer layers and strength members, and encased by a jacketing material.
Splicing a ribbon fiber optic cable at a demarcation box involves exposing ribbon segments of the fiber optic cables to be spliced from the jacketing material and making the splice with these exposed ribbon segments. In general, exposed ribbon fiber is fragile and must be stored in an organized fashion that protects optical fibers in the exposed ribbon from damage. The physical properties of ribbon fiber optic cable are such that the ribbon is resistive to acute changes in shape and thus tends to resist any organized routing of the ribbon.
Operators continue to seek reduced costs and improved reliability of the terminations and the interfaces to the customer network. Accordingly, improvements in the design of these termination boxes and in techniques for terminating fiber optic cables are needed.